If Bank of America sells Columbia Management, what would be the price tag and who might buy? The Boston Globe's Steven Syre dives into the media debate over the Boston-based asset manager's future, citing analysts estimates of a $3.5 billion price for Columbia (a price Syre calls "wishful thinking") and musing that Dreyfus parent Mellon Financial Corp (i.e. BNY-Mellon) might make sense as a buyer.

The $3.5 billion price Syre reports would value Columbia at just above one percent of AUM (about $340 billion), compared with an analyst estimate of $7.7 billion that Reuters reported in March. As for the bidders, an industry insider previously told MFWire that Manulife's John Hancock had been rebuffed by BofA and that BlackRock was also interested (see MFWire, 4/1/2009). And last week Bloomberg cited BlackRock, as well as Federated Investors and Franklin Resources, as possible Columbia buyers (see 5/11/2009). Syre's reiterated all three of those names in his article. 

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